


Tales of Hyrule

by cupsofstardust



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: 5+1 Things, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Canon Compliant, Friendship, Gen, POV Outsider(s), minus the +1 because I don't care, so just 5 things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:01:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27176932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cupsofstardust/pseuds/cupsofstardust
Summary: There's a strange boy in Hyrule.For some, encounters with him are frequent, and sometimes a little puzzling.-Alternatively, five times the hero of Hyrule smiles.
Relationships: Beedle & Link (Legend of Zelda), Bolson & Link (Legend of Zelda), Hudson & Link (Legend of Zelda), Link & Pikango (Legend of Zelda), Meghyn & Nat & Link (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 99





	Tales of Hyrule

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for my absence, I got a switch finally and I'm just vibing, truly. In case you couldn't tell, I've been playing breath of the wild recently 😏

i.

Beedle arrives at Tabantha Bridge Stable in the early hours of the morning.

It's late, and the owner holds a finger to his lips as he enters the stable to set down his pack and get some sleep before dawn. All the beds are full, mostly of children, and their parents sit on the floor beside them, half-asleep themselves. Almost as soon as he sits down, he's asleep, dreamless and peaceful. 

That is, until he's shaken awake. 

He blinks in the bright morning sunshine, still bleary, and looks up into a face he recognizes. 

"Hey!" he cries. "You came all the way out here to see me? We must've been married in a previous life!" 

The boy doesn't react to that, but he doesn't usually react to anything Beedle says; it's part of his charm, the stoicism behind his eyes. 

"What can I do for you?" he asks, already reaching around to unzip his pack. "Buying? Selling?"

He doesn't say anything, but he doesn't usually say anything. He's peculiar like that. He just gestures to the bow—a different bow from the one he had the last time Beedle saw him—strapped across his back, something he's done before. Arrows are the only thing he ever buys. Curious. It makes him wonder just what kind of life he leads.

He pulls some arrows out of his pack and ties them into a neat bundle. "Here you go! That'll be sixty rupees!"

Again, silently, he counts out the rupees—he never seems to run out of rupees—and drops them into Beedle's hand. Usually, this is the part where he runs off, back out of the stable and into the morning or afternoon or evening—he always has somewhere else to be. But not today. 

Today, instead of leaving, he reaches into his own pack and produces a rhino beetle, which he holds out. And then he does something he hasn't done many times before. In fact, Beedle can't recall if he's ever done it.

He smiles, sweet and pure, and his eyes twinkle a little with the rising sun.

Beedle blinks, momentarily shocked, but he recovers quickly and takes the beetle from him. "Oh! I'll have to add this to my collection! Thank you! Here, have this!"

He digs around in his pack for a moment, then pulls out an elixir. The boy accepts it, and then he leaves. Beedle gets up, eager to see just where it is he's going, and he barely manages to catch a glimpse of him leaping over the side of Tabantha Bridge. 

He reappears in a flash, his glider above his head, and below him—Beedle blinks, rubs his eyes, surely this is an _illusion,_ brought on by his own exhaustion—but no. When he opens his eyes, he still sees the tail end of a white dragon, before it flicks just out of view into the chasm.

ii.

Pikango sets down his easel in Kakariko village.

The sun has just risen, and so too have the people here; Dorian has traded off with Cado to guard Lady Impa's home, and as Pikango pulls out his brushes to begin a new painting, the door to her house opens and Paya comes down the stairs, as she does every morning.

In her arms is a basket of apples. She carries it all the way down, offers one to Cado, and then kneels on the ground before the statues beside them. She places a single apple in every tray, then takes the basket and makes her rounds for the morning, humming quietly to herself. 

As she passes him, she holds out an apple, and he gently shakes his head with a smile. So Paya moves on. 

He turns back to his canvas to start painting when he spots a boy running towards the village, a Yiga footsoldier in hot pursuit. In one fluid motion, the boy pulls the bow off his back, turns, and fires an arrow, which sends the Yiga footsoldier flying backwards with a grunt.

The boy doesn't wait to see if he gets up; he runs full-pelt into the village, and the Yiga footsoldier vanishes with a spray of sparks and echoing laughter.

Pikango knows this boy; he doesn't know his name, but he's seen him before, always gliding into Kakariko village from the shrine above them, always coming up to him with an album of photos and a question in his eyes. Curious thing. 

Today, the boy doesn't notice him right away. It seems like he's heading to Lady Impa's house, but at the last second he stops, glances at Cado, then swipes an apple from one of the trays in front of him. He quickly hides it in his pack, along with three others, and the last one he takes a bite out of. 

It's when he's getting up that he notices Pikango, and he sheepishly wipes the apple juice off his chin. Wordlessly, he walks over to him and reaches into his pack for a second apple, which he holds out to him. His eyes shine with the promise of a truce; an apple in exchange for Pikango's continued silence on his routine thievery.

Pikango smiles to himself, and he takes the apple.

The boy smiles back, charming if a little impish, and he runs off, back the way he came. Pikango can hear another echoing laugh bounce off the walls as the boy disappears from view.

iii.

Nat's eternal search for truffles has only ever gotten them in trouble.

Meghyn can practically feel it breathing down her neck as she forages in the dirt at the base of a tree. There's dirt under her nails, in her hair— _everywhere._ Oh, what she wouldn't give to take a dip in the river. It's hot in Faron; Meghyn has never been this far south before. She misses Central Hyrule.

A loud squealing breaks her reverie and she jumps, whirling around only to find herself face-to-face with a horrible, pig-faced monster wielding a bony club. She screams. 

"Nat, run!" she cries, tripping over her own feet and tumbling to the ground in her haste to get to her sister. "Somebody, help! Please!"

The last thing she sees is another monster descending upon her sister, and with another terrible screech that drowns out Nat's own, everything goes dark. 

When she finally blinks awake, the first thing she notices is that the monsters are gone, and she's alone. Well, _almost_ alone. 

In the grass near her is a boy, his knees pulled up to his chest. There's a sword on the ground next to him, and dark blood drying in the dirt. He looks up when she rouses, holding a hand to her head. She's still a little dizzy. He doesn't say anything when he approaches, but he does so slowly, as though he's afraid of startling her. 

He doesn't say anything, because his eyes do the talking for him. 

They're gentle, soft in the fading sunlight, and his brows are curved upwards in concern. _Are you okay?_ he seems to ask, and _You're safe now._

"I know you," is the first thing Meghyn thinks to say, because she does. She doesn't know his name, but she's certain—this boy has saved her before. 

He nods, and then his eyes go to her pack, as if to ask if she's had any luck with finding truffles.

"We haven't been able to find any," she says quietly, lest Nat overhear. "I think this is more of a wild goose chase than anything."

The boy mulls that over for a second, and then he reaches into his own pack and pulls out a truffle. He offers it to her, and for a moment she's too surprised to respond. 

"But—but I should be giving you something! To thank you for saving us, again! Here, um, take this!" From her pack she produces a small tin of smoked meat and vegetables. "It's not a lot, but..."

He takes the tin, dropping the truffle into her hand as he does. Then he grins, as if to say, _Now we're even._

Before she can object, he's collecting his sword and stowing the tin away so he can go check on Nat. From the look of it, it seems he regrets it almost immediately, once again at the mercy of her truffle rant. He looks back at Meghyn a little desperately, and she suppresses a laugh. 

"Meghyn! Come on, we're leaving. We need to widen our search area." Without waiting for an answer, Nat is off, likely marching them right back into trouble. 

"Coming!" Meghyn gets up, wipes off her pants, and starts after her.

As she passes, she waves a little at the boy, and he waves back.

iv.

_This kid is crazy,_ Bolson thinks.

"You really want to buy this house?" He can hardly fathom it; it's old, crumbling at the seams, uneven. The foundation is a mess and a half.

The boy nods, steadfast in both his decision and his stance, his hands on his hips. Bolson sighs. 

"Fine," he agrees, not interested in arguing. "Karson! Hudson! Stop the demolition at once!"

Both of them drop their sledgehammers and wipe the sweat from their brows, leaning against the side of the house. 

"It'll cost you," he warns. 

The boy says nothing. He only waits, patiently, for Bolson to name his price.

"It's 50,000 rupees," he begins, and the boy's eyes widen incrementally before his surprise is replaced by steely determination. "But I like your moxie. For you, I'll bring it down to 3,000, as long as you bring me as much wood as you can carry. We'll say...." He thinks on it for a moment. "How about 30 bundles?"

The boy nods firmly, holding out his hand to shake on it. Bolson obliges, and then he's off, hopping onto the back of his horse and trotting out of the village.

He doesn't see the boy much after that, which isn't all that surprising. He hadn't expected him to be serious about buying the house, but still he leaves it standing as straight as it can after all the years of weathering and cracking and crumbling.

And one day, he returns. 

He leads his horse across the bridge. There's a cart rolling along behind her, filled with wood. Bolson's eyes widen. It seems he took ‘as much as you can carry' literally. 

The boy stops in front of him, gesturing to the cart with a hand, as if to say, _Here._

Bolson stands, dusts off his pants, and eyes the cart, silently counting the bundles. "You're short," he says. "This is only twenty."

He rolls his eyes. As if to say he knows that. As if to say, _Wait._

So Bolson does. He has Karson and Hudson unload the bundles of wood from his cart, and then the boy leaves again.

The next time he comes back, it's without his horse. 

"So?" Bolson starts, glancing up at him and squinting against the sun. "Do you have the rest of the wood I asked you for?"

The boy whistles, loud and sharp, and a donkey trots across the bridge, laden with ten bundles of wood. Bolson raises a brow; he hadn't expected him to be quite this persistent. 

"And what of the rupees?"

The boy turns to his donkey and unties two saddlebags. Their contents clink together and pool when he drops them at Bolson's feet, a pleased, cocky smile on his face. 

"I suppose that'll do," he says. "If you want, I'll build you a bed. It'll cost you. A hundred rupees."

Without hesitating, he drops another hundred rupees into Bolson's hand, the same smile still fixed on his face.

Bolson sighs, but he gets up and calls to Karson, "Dazzle me again!"

v.

Hudson knows this boy.

He bought the house in Hateno village. Hudson left after that, to chase a dream of his own, but it would seem the universe still has plans for the two of them. Why else would he be all the way up north, in Akkala, when he has a perfectly good home in Hateno?

When the boy jerks a thumb at the giant rocks all over the otherwise empty peninsula, he gets an idea.

"I'm trying to build a town here but I gotta get rid of these rocks first. I can't break them all on my own," he laments. "Could you do me a favor?"

The kid nods, silent as ever but kind, as well. He hadn't seen much of that in Hateno, when he was bossing Bolson around. It was funny, though.

"Can you find me someone to break all of these rocks? A Goron would be able to easily, but I don't think I can get to Eldin on my own."

He starts to nod again when it occurs to Hudson.

"Also, in accordance with Bolson Construction guidelines, their name should end in -son." 

He furrows his brows for a moment, seemingly a little perplexed, but he nods, slowly, like he already has an idea of where to look.

It continues like this, the construction of Tarrey Town, until eventually houses are built and populated and shops are opened and stocked, and Hudson finds himself falling in love.

The wedding is a joyous affair. Rhondson positively glows with happiness, and Hudson imagines he looks the same. 

He's there, of course. Of course he is, he built this town. Sure, Hudson laid the foundations and stripped the wood and chopped it but it's the boy who made it possible. He brought the wood and the people, Hudson just put it all together. 

He's at the wedding, because of course he is, he brought them together, and after the wedding he comes up to Hudson with a smile on his face. 

He glows with it, the happiness for another person, and he inclines his head a little, as if to say _Congratulations,_ and _I'm happy for you._

"Thank you," Hudson says, "For everything."

His smile grows brighter, and he nods easily, like it's no big deal to build a town from the ground up. Like it's no big deal to change someone's life. Like he does it all the time.

"Now," Hudson continues. "Don't you have something you need to do?"

The boy's smile falters, and he averts his eyes, but he nods, and scratches the back of his head. Hudson had seen it; something weighing on his shoulders, a burden that grew heavier each time he returned.

"Then get going," he says, lightly, gently, and the boy looks at him again. "You don't have time to tarry here."

Tears gather in his eyes, but he nods, again, because he knows he can't stay here forever. He holds out his hand, and Hudson shakes it, and then he leaves, putting Tarrey Town behind him.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't really know what this is, I just like the idea of Link being like, an embodiment of the player with all the things we do that might like. look strange to npcs? Idk I like the idea of npcs being confused by the little hylian bastard who comes into town just to smash all their pots, buy their entire stock of arrows, and leave, yknow.
> 
> Also the ending was a surprise to me as well, just so you know. When I read that in the game I almost cried in real life.
> 
> Hope you liked this! Comments and kudos are nice, thank you <3
> 
> [My Twitter!](https://twitter.com/shippusen)


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